Save Me
by MysticChic
Summary: Lily's life is placed in the hands of another after a tragedy occurs. Her savior is strong and trust worthy. But the real problem is his undying love for her.
1. Chapter 1 Flashback

**Disclaimer: I have no idea what a disclaimer is but I think it has something to do with ownership...so...I don't own RFR and honestly I don't' wish I did. I don't own anything except that notebook that I lost.**  
  
Lily walked carelessly down the cement path in the park. Her arms were folded closely to her chest, as if she was protecting herself. The cotton sweater she was wearing was soft, but durable to keep the cold of the autumn air isolated out. Her baggy jeans hung over her shoes, and the back of the hem was getting beaten up from dragging on the ground. She kept her eyes upward, toward the grey clouds that coated the sky, threatening to break down into a heavy rainfall any minute. She hadn't expected the coming event because the clouds had been like that all week without a single drop, but in two minutes she was getting soaked with rain. She heard the dry leaves, crackling from the water droplets, and thought about the last time she heard something like that.  
  
_"Lily! Come over here, and look at the..."_  
  
That was when she heard it. It was quick, and she heard a scream after it. Then running. Nonetheless, she had heard the sound and ever since, it scared her to death. She half knew what it was, half didn't want to look or know. She was only 5, and she didn't know what to do, so instead of going back to investigate, she ran straight home. Police informed her dad, who informed her and Simone what it was, or what happened when Lily heard the shot. She cried then, for days, and she cried now for thinking about it. It had been so long since she talked about that to anyone, dreamed, or thought about it.  
  
**Anyone know what it is? I'm pretty sure this sucked, but who am I to judge my own work, I don't know what I'm writing half the time. It just kinda...appears oO So anyway, if you hated it, just tell me, I'm used to it. But if you could, tell me why. Constructive criticism helps. "I hate it. You suck at writing." doesn't help. So...review.**


	2. Chapter 2 Teh Dream

**Disclaimer: Don't think I'll tell you every damn time I post a chapter that I don't own RFR. When I own it, I'll let you know. Mutant, was episode are you talking about?**  
  
Lily kept hearing voices in her sleep. She desperately wanted to wake up form this nightmare, but no matter how hard she tried, all she did was come back to it.  
  
_"Lily...Lily...come over here, I need to talk to you."   
Lily recognized the voice, but she couldn't remember whom it was coming from. She was standing in what was like a jungle, sinking slowly into the mud that surrounded a pond. Raging waters poured into the pond, making it harder and harder for Lily to hear the voice. A hand grasped her wrist firmly and tried to save her, but just as she was out of the mud, the same hand let go and she stumbled backward, into the water. The waterfall that was falling into the pond made the water swirl, and Lily had no choice but to...  
_  
**BEEP BEEP BEEP**  
  
Lily awoke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat from her dream. It took a full ten minutes for her breathing and the beating of her heart to slow to a normal rate, and finally she was decent enough to get ready for school. All through the school day, Lily kept a little distant from her friends. Her dream had a message. Someone was trying to tell her something, Lily could tell. She didn't know who and she didn't know what, which greatly bugged her. She opted out of RFR that afternoon, hoping the guys wouldn't mind. She settled herself on the couch at Mickey's with her homework, wanting to calm herself down from the dream and collect herself. As Question Mark, Smog, and Pronto rambled on about pointless stuff, Lily blocked Radio Free Roscoe out of her head because their topic was getting on her last nerve.  
  
**I know, I know, it's short! . I promise, the next chapter will be longer. No, I don't have anything against dialogue, but don't blame me if my writing is crap. It's this thing I have...when I'm 'in the mood', my fingers will just fly over the keys and I when I read what appears, I have no memory of ever writing it.**


	3. Chapter 3 DIALOUGENESS

**OK, here's where the real stuff begins. I actually have DIALOUGE!! DUN Dun dunnnnnnnnnnn o.o**  
  
"So, Lily, that comic book store at the mall just came out with a new Japanese Anime comic last week. Wanna come with? We can catch a movie and pick up you're dad's favorite DVD for Fathers Day Sunday." "I dunno Travis, I was kinda hoping..." Travis had a look on his face saying he had something else he wanted to do with Lily that he couldn't let the guys know about, who were sitting right in front of them on the lunch table. "...I could go see that new movie with Ray. But I think it's playing at the mall. We could go, sure." Travis smiled at Lily's quick save. He really needed to talk to Lily about what's been bothering him, and he sure as shit didn't want Robbie and Ray sitting two feet away listening in on their conversation. That Saturday, Lily stepped in the mall door that Travis was holding open. After walking for about 5 minutes, they spotted Ray at a candy store, filling up his bag that was sure to cost more than he could afford when he was done. Lily shook her head and disgust and made sure Ray kept his price low enough.  
  
About halfway through the movie, Travis woke Lily and told Ray he needed to use the restroom. Lily snuck out a minute later, thankful that she chose a seat behind Ray. She met up with Travis in front of a store near the back of the mall, where barely anyone goes.   
"Lily, as you figured out I really needed to talk to a trusted person about something. None of my family members would understand, even though halfway through the story it may seem that they'd be the only ones who would understand."   
Lily chuckled softly. "So what do you need help with?"   
Travis was ready for this. He had made up a whole story to make it seem unobvious to Lily who he was talking about, but not so much that he wouldn't get the answer he needed. "I was told by just about the most reliable source available to human kind that my cousin was putting herself into a bad situation. Like, really bad. Only I was told, because apparently, I'm the only one who can help here with it. I didn't really get that part, but I believe it nonetheless. Anyway, if I told her what she was getting herself into, or what she will get herself into, she wouldn't believe me and by the time she did, it'd be too late. If I don't tell her, then the only way I can help her is by scaring the shit out of her along the way. So, what should I do?"   
"Hmm. Maybe you should just help her along the way. If she wont' believe you then she won't believe you. Just make sure she's ok."   
Travis smiled. "Thanks Lily."   
Lily smiled back. "No problem."  
  
**Congratulations! My love for writing got the best of me. This fanfic is gonna turn out to be one of those fanfics where no one really gets the point until like, half way through the story, and then when it's done it'll be in major need of a sequel in which the author of the original will leave up the the fan's imagination and choice of writing a sequel :D I honestly don't know how many chapters it'll have, but I have the end written and the whole thing in my mind. :)**


	4. Chapter 4 Travis finds out

**OK...time for Chapter 4...got nuthin to say...so...yeah .**  
  
In actuality, Travis' situation had to do with Lily, not his cousin. I'll give $5,000 to anyone who didn't figure that. ...OK, money's mine. YAY. Anyway, Travis had figured over the past week that by the way Lily and Ray had been acting around each other, they'd been secretly dating for a while. Sure enough, when he walked back into the theatre after a bathroom break that afternoon, Lily and Ray were making out. No wonder they chose a seat in the back ; Travis smiled as Ray and Lily blushed when Travis stated he was behind them for about five minutes. Though he was smiling, he was hurt. Like, really hurt. Not only because he liked Lily, but also because she already started falling down the hole. No, not literally, you dope heads, but...oh, never mind. You'll figure it out sooner or later. Travis knew he was too late, and all he could do now was keep her out of the mud.  
  
**I'm so sorry for the length. I tend to be like that, make something short just so I can leave a little to the readers' imagination. I figured out that unless I keep the chapters short, I'll end up with like 7 chapters and then it'll be over. But I promise the next one will be alot longer than this one.**


	5. Chapter 5 Oooh oO Scawy

**Chapter 5! $40 to whoever guessed what 'out of the mud' was referring to!! :P Lemme go get my wallet. LOL. Anyway, lets go on with the chapter. Oh, and I'm sorry for the lack of Robbie. Um...he's busy right now. Please leave a message after the tone. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP**  
  
Through that week, Ray and Lily started acting a little friendlier in front of Robbie and Travis. They were relived that they didn't have to hide it anymore, because it was getting complicated. That Saturday, Ray's birthday, Lily had a whole day planned, just the two of them together. To top of the perfect day, Ray invited Lily over for dinner. His parents cooked a big steak dinner just for the occasion and were glad to have Lily over.  
  
Lily raised her hand and knocked on Ray's front door. She had been over to his house plenty of times, so she couldn't figure out why she had butterflies. Sure, it was the first time being over as Ray's girlfriend for a fancy birthday dinner, but she didn't see that a reason to be nervous.  
  
Lily prepared herself to knock again when Ray opened the door. He greeted her with a smile and pulled her inside.  
  
"Hey pretty lady."  
  
Lily giggled at Ray's classic greeting and kissed him. He kissed back and led her to the rest of the house.  
  
Halfway through dinner, Lily was no longer nervous. She still didn't know why she had a funny feeling in her gut. All of a sudden, she started thinking about Travis and her recurring dream. Last night, she had the same dream at a different angle. Instead of starting just before she stepped into the mud, she was already halfway down and the hand was already trying to pull her up. She woke just before her savior had her completely safe. Just as it was 10 minutes before, Lily had another gut-bursting feeling, and she started thinking that maybe something bad would happen soon. She actually had a mental fight with herself just before she came, one side saying she should go to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday, the other saying something terrible would happen and she shouldn't even get dressed for it. In one quick motion, Ray stood up from his chair and threw something at his brother. Lily stared at him in shock, then at Tim who had a bloody nose.  
  
"What the hell was that for, Ray?" Tim asked, more like yelling, as he a tissue to stop the bleeding.  
  
"What do you mean what the hell was for? You know better than to talk shit about my friends!"  
  
Tim gasped sarcastically. "Watch out Ray, your girlfriend might disapprove and break up with you."  
  
Lily glared at Tim and tried to pull Ray down by his arm. Mr. And Mrs. Brennan just...kinda stared, while their sons broke out in a fight. Mrs. Brennan gave Lily and apologetic look for Tim's behavior.  
  
"Shut up Tim!" Without thinking, Ray grabbed his glass and threw it as hard as he could at his brother. It hit him square in the face; little bits of glass stuck it and blood dripping down. Tim ran upstairs to his bathroom to clean up the cuts and Ray chased after him to continue his fight. Lily got up and stormed out of the house without saying another word.  
  
**Oooh, didn't see that one coming, didja? Huh huh huh? Didja didja didja? :P Anyway, I bet Lily's gonna break up with Ray, what do you guys think?**


	6. Chapter 6 New dreams

**OK, I know these chapters aren't as long as the average chapter on fanfiction.net. I'm trying hard to make them longer but I can't. The length of Chapter 5 is about as big as they're gonna get.  
**  
That night, Lily had a weird dream. She dreamt that she was opening her front door, to an angry Ray with a broken piece of glass in his hand. He raised it above his head and just as he slashed Lily with it, she woke up in a cold sweat, her heart beating faster than 180 times a minute. She felt a stinging pain in the arm that Ray attempted to injure in her dream, and she saw a long cut. She placed her fingers on it, felt more pain and brought her hand closer to her face to examine the dark red blood. She got out of bed and tended to the cut and went back to bed, as it was 1 am in the morning.  
  
Lily started dreaming again. This time, there was no Ray, but a smiling Travis, who appeared at her doorstep. He had a sensitive nsmile, as if he was trying to reassure her. He was walking with her in the park, and just as he touched her arm and kissed her, Lily woke up. Her breathing and heartbeat were normal, she wasn't sweating, she wasn't scared or worried. She looked at her arm and so nothing. No cut, no scar, no anything. She smiled, and wondered if waking up at a cut really was just part of her dream. Or maybe she imagined it. She spent the day with Robbie, the one person she trusted and wouldn't remind her of her strange dreams. Her plan worked; by the end of the day there was no trace of her dream. But then as she was walking home that evening, she walked past Ray's house. She could hear Ray and Tim fighting, glass crashing, punching, screaming...she ran the rest of the way home.  
  
Just as the horrifying night before, the same things happened. When she woke up after the first dream, the one where Ray tried to cut her, she turned on her light, felt her arm to make sure the cut was real, splashed water on her face, drank a cup of juice. She woke herself up enough to assure that she wasn't dreaming, and then just to have proof, she took a picture of her arm. She put down the camera and went back to bed.  
  
She woke up a few hours later after the walk in the park with Travis. No cut, no scar. Not even the band-aid she put on the deepest part of the cut.  
  
**Anyone realize that the first chapter had nothing to do with the fanfic so far? Don't worry, it will. I write like that sometimes. I'll be writing stuff, having no plot whatsoever, and then suddenly I'll write something else, having the first project nowhere in my mind, and it'll fit together perfectly. I actually had the last chapter written first, then the first chapter and soon after, Chapters 5 and 6. And they all work together perfectly in one fanfic! Um...even though I could literally post one chapter a day at the speed I'm writing, I'd like 5 reviews before I post the next chapter :3**


	7. Chapter 7 Talking doesn't help

** OK, I've gotten past the recurring dream, the fighting, and the spirit crap...what else is next? Ah yes :)**  
  
Ever since that night at Ray's house, Lily kept her distance. Going to class instead of meeting the guys at the steps, sitting far from Ray in class, taking another route whenever she saw him in public. She even punched him and threw the ball twice as hard when he said something stupid. Four times as hard when he insulted Travis. After all, he was her savior. Or at least, that's what she liked to think ;)  
  
When her metaphor dream came back one night, she was being pulled out of the mud. And she could even see who was saving her: The only and only Travis Strong. She came out of the mud clean and happy, then kissed Travis when he pulled her close.  
During Physics class that afternoon, Travis slid a note onto Robbie's desk as he passed it.  
Robbie- I need your help on something. Stick around at the station after Ray leaves. –Travis  
  
Just as Travis expected, Lily pulled Ray into the soundproof tech booth to talk. No doubt she was breaking up with him, that Travis expected. What he didn't expect was for Ray to get angry. Travis had to pull him out by the shoulder when he almost destroyed the sound board and Lily ran out crying after Ray stormed on home. Finally it was just Travis and Robbie. "OK, so I've been telling you about these dreams I've been getting. I'd help pull Lily out of the mud, then she'd stumble backward and fall into the water, which had a whirlpool and all I could do is stand back and watch. Last night, it got as far as Lily drowning, and me diving in to save her. I figured out by the second time I had this dream that it was a metaphor, so now I'm scared. What if neither Lily or I make it?"  
"Travis, when it came to this part in your dream, did you save her?"  
"No. I woke up when I got a hold of her."  
"Well then all you can do now is wait for the next part of your dream. If it helps, I read up on dreams like this and if the books are correct, then Lily's having these dreams too, from a different perspective. Talk to her about it."  
"I bet that's why she's been avoiding Ray. Maybe the mud was his relationship with Lily. I also told you about those dreams where I'd be walking in the park with Lily, and she'd have a cut on her arm. Then I touch it and kiss her."  
"You and Lily obviously have some sort of connection. Just try to find out more, OK? Then come talk to me."  
"Thanks."  
"No problem." Robbie grabbed his backpack and walked out, headed towards Mickey's. Travis sat on the couch, pondering about what he should do. Hesitantly, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and sent Lily a text message.  
_ Mt me Mickeys tmrw 6.  
**Y?**  
I need 2 tlk 2 u.  
**K...  
** Dnt ?, jst do!_  
  
**I'm getting pretty frickin' pissed off at the fact that I only get, what, 2 reviews per chapter? I know this fanfic is like shit compared to most other fanfics here but I can still hope, right? Just tell me what you guys wanna read and I'll put it in! You'll have to wait a few chapters because I'm in the middle of writing Chapter 11. That one's just plain humor the whole way through! Wanna see more angst? I can get my brother to break my favorite CD. Drama? Wait...this is kind of like drama...Romance! No...I already have too much romance in later chapters. Just tell me what'll make you guys review more and I'll put it in!**


	8. Chapter 8 But it does now!

**Chapter 8, right? checks Yeah. So...lemme just think of what else I'm gonna write...OK. I figure that I'll have anywhere between 6 and 9 more chapters. And, every time I get 6 reviews, you guys get 1 sentence from a future chapter. A good sentence. Maybe a few. K? K. Even if it takes 6 chapters to get 6 reviews. Which I hope it doesn't -.-**  
  
Travis arrived at Mickey's at 5:30. He knew he was early and he shouldn't expect Lily for another half hour, but he had nothing better to do. Before he realized what was happening, Mickey was sitting next to him.  
"If I was counting right, that's your third cup of tea in the past half hour. Somethin' buggin ya, kid?"  
"Kind of. It's too hard to explain, but in attempt to avoid naps, If I'm supposed to be saving a friend from what could be her death, then why does it feel like every time I help her, she just gets closer to what's killing her?"  
"That's a pretty confusing question. Does this girl know you're her knight in shining...denim?"  
Travis looked down at his rough jeans and rolled his eyes. "I don't know. She might, she might not. I said it's hard to explain. I'm supposed to meet her here in like 2 minutes, but the problem is that if she isn't getting the same messages that I am, then she'll think I'm insane and wont' believe me."  
"Well, it sounds to me that you're trying pretty dang hard to help her if she doesn't even know what you're doing. Maybe you could explain exactly what's happening, and she could be more careful."  
"That's another thing. It's way too unbelievable. She'll think I'm just trying to mess up her relationship with this other guy, who's actually the one I'm supposedly saving her from."  
"Well, here she comes now," Mickey said, motioning towards the door as Lily walked in. Travis frowned in confusion then looked at Mickey, who shrugged and left. Before Lily could spot him, Travis went out the back door and called Lily's cell number.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey, Lily. It's Travis. I'm sorry I'm not there, but I got caught up in something else and I can't get away from it. Just forget this, what I needed to talk to you about wasn't that important anyway..."  
Lily frowned at nothing in particular. "You sure, Trav? When you asked me to meet you it seemed pretty important."  
"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure."  
"OK..."  
Mickey sighed and shook his head in disgust.  
  
**So? Did you expect Travis was gonna talk to Lily? I decided the outcome would be better if he didn't talk to her about it. tweaks voice a little But the only way you could have thought Travis would back out was if you had mind reading powers. The only way you could have read my mind to find out what was gonna happen was if you had...FAIRY GOD PARENTS! -twitch twitch twitch-**


	9. Chapter 9 Winchestertonfieldsville

**Thanks for the reviews, guys :D Possibly what'll be the longest chapter in my fanfic coming right up!  
**  
Over an extended period of time, Ray had come to realize that not only did Lily not want to be his girlfriend, but she didn't want to be his friend either. He was sorry for letting his anger loose and would do anything for lily just so she could forgive him. He never hurt her! ...Did he? No...no, he couldn't have. He only hurt Tim. No Lily Randalls were hurt in the making of this fanfic. Well, not physically...Ray mentally kicked himself for weeks since that night. He couldn't believe he could have been so stupid. He decided he needed to make Lily forgive him, so they could at least be friends. As Ray made his way over to the steps, he thought about what he'd tell Lily. The first thing he heard was her angelic laugh, started by a joke that Travis shared. As he neared the steps he saw them laughing together. Travis was sitting right next to Lily, and Lily was near the bottom, so Ray took a seat on the same step as her, three feet away. "Hi Lily..." Lily kept a smile in place of her laugh at she looked at Ray. "Oh, hi Ray." Travis nudged Lily's shoulder lightly and whispered something in her ear. They both broke out in laughter again and Ray looked hurt. Lily stood up and Travis followed her actions, leaving Ray's gaze to follow as they walked away.  
  
Little did Ray know that his gradual break up with Lily was indeed caused by Travis. Not only did Lily's instinct keep her distant, but Travis also filled up her schedule. Day by day, Lily grew apart from Ray and left him wondering if Travis and Lily really were _just friends...  
_  
Lily had actually stopped having her weird dreams for about a month or two. She pretty much forgot them, until a particular Saturday. The Friday before, Ray caught up with her as she walked to the station.  
"Hey, Lil! Wait up!"  
Lily stopped and turned to face Ray. She waited until he met her side, then continued walking.  
"What's up, Ray?"  
"Nothin much...I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow. Catch a movie, go to the golf park, get some grub, chill at Mickeys..."  
"Um...I-" Lily silently thanked God for being cut off by her cell phone. She hit SND and raised it to her ear.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey Lily. You got any plans for tomorrow? I was hoping we could spend the afternoon together."  
Lily tapped on the side of the phone with her fingernail a couple times, hoping Travis would figure that Ray was near by. "Mom, I was gonna spend Saturday with Ray. Do I have to?"  
Travis chuckled a bit. "Yes Lily, it's mandatory that the entire family is present at your Aunt Rachel's wedding."  
Lily sensed Travis beaming at the other end, knowing he just saved Lily from an awkward moment with Ray. "Fine. I'll tell him." Lily hung up and stuck the phone in her pocket. She and Ray continued to their destination.  
"Bad news. My Aunt Rachel is getting married tomorrow. I have to go to the wedding."  
"Oh. Where's she getting married?"  
"Um...it's a small town like really far from here. I don't think you've heard of it."  
"Shoot. Geography happens to be on of my strong points."  
"Um...it's in... Win...chester.ton...fields...ville. The small town of Winchestertonfieldsville."  
Ray looked at her with a look that said, 'You've got to be kidding me'. Lily nodded her head as if answering him, 'Totally true, what I just said.'  
"The small town of Winchestertonfieldsville. Your inexistent aunt is getting inexistently married in the small inexistent town of Winchesstertonfieldsville because you don't want to spend the afternoon with me. God, Lily, if you didn't want to hurt my feelings you could have at least come up with something believable."  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, sorry. It's not like I can forget what happened! It's a reflex of fear."  
"Fear? You're scared of me?"  
"No, Ray, I'm not scared of you. I'm scared of what might happen!"  
"Well, Lily! I could of fixed that!" Ray casually took a step loser to Lily. "I'm sorry about what happened. But Tim' s healed. I went a little overboard with my anger but if you were listening to Simone talk like that about Travis and Robbie I'm sure you would have done the same. I'm sorry, OK? Can you forgive me?"  
Lily looked Ray directly in the eye and he took a step closer to Lily. His face was about half an inch from hers.  
"Please," he whispered. He raised his hand to Lily's neck and cupped the side of her jaw in his hand. He leaned closer and kissed her lips softly. He stayed like that for a minute and pulled away. Sticking his hand back in his pocket, he expected the worse.  
". . .I'd be glad to spend the day with you tomorrow." Lily smiled and laced her fingers through Ray's and they continued to the station.  
  
Saturday ended up being one of the best days in Lily's life. She couldn't remember a time she had as much fun before. She hoped she'd have pleasant dreams that night, but to top of the best day, she had the worst night. For the dream she had was the one that filled her with the most dread.  
  
_ Lily was struggling to get herself out of the mud. Travis was right in front of her, holding on to her wrist so tight she could swear he was cutting off her blood circulation. She was staring straight into his eyes and could sense the love he had for her. He stuck his other hand down to grab her other hand, but it didn't help. The mud was pulling on Lily, trying it's hardest to keep her down._  
  
** :D Well? I've worked the entire fanfic through my mind and the only thing I have to do now is type it up. The ending is super cool! The more reviews I get, the closer you'll get to the really-cool-yet-not-as-long-as-this-chapter finale! BTW, here's that spoiler I said I'd give you guys for 6 reviews:**   
_**Lily gave a half-hearted laugh as Travis sprayed her with bug repellent. The two friends continued the hike up the mountain. Lily could hear a faint waterfall in the distance, and prayed her ears weren't deceiving her.**_


	10. Ch 10, 11 High off soda, Asshole

** For those of you who've seen Mr. Deeds, you probably recognize the small town of Winchestertonfieldsville, Iowa as the girl's excuse to get away from Longfellow. Guys wanna know a secret? Sometimes, I plan the small details of writing no more than 3 seconds before it appears on the screen. Oh, and I had a whole box of candy, so this chapter is a little insane-in- the-membrane. Insane, got no brain! (Dickie Roberts)**  
  
Personally, Lily was getting sick and tired of these dreams. She was finally starting to figure out what the deal was. See, every time she had a dream that Ray was hurting her, she'd wake up with a large, fresh cut on her arm. Now, that scared the living shit out of her, probably the dead crap as well. She kept cool about it, and even took pictures of the cuts to prove they were real. To avoid having others looking at the pictures while they were being developed, she used a Polaroid. Every time she went back to bed, she'd have a dream that Travis caressed the cut arm and kissed her tenderly. Waking up the next morning to the proof (the pictures) that there actually was a cut just a few hours before, she'd look at her arm to find no trace of the cut whatsoever. So, with no doubt, she figured out that the savior in her dream was Travis.

"No. Damn. Way. You really think?" admonished a sarcastic, gay-sounding voice from nowhere.   
"What? Who said that?" Lily questioned.   
"Um...uh...your...imaginary friend! Bob." ". . .   
"Dammit! Get out of my head! Get out get out GET OUT!"   
-cough- o.O; Lily has to quit drinking soda and eating pop rocks at the same time.   
On with the story! Anywayz, like Bob confirmed, Travis was saving Lily. Trying to, at least. Lily was scared to death when she had that dream after her Saturday with Ray. Of course, if the mud was Ray, and Travis was her savior, and New Hampshire is somewhere in this general area pulls down a map and uses a pointer to circle China, then that means...THAT SPENDING TIME WITH RAY IS ACTUALLY WHATS CAUSING HER TO SWALLOW MUD NIGHT BY NIGHT, MAKING LILY SICK TO HER STOMACH JUST THINKING AOUT WHAT KIND OF SHIT ANIMALS DUMP IN THERE!! GASP!!  
  
**"No shit."   
"Dammit Bob! This is MYSTICCHIC'S story written by MYSTICCHIC'S WEIRD SELF that's all about LILY and MysticChic has no intention of you ruining it!"   
"Mystic, calm down. Bob's a figment of my imagination, and my mind's just running crazy according to you and you know, just...just don't mind him."   
-does some deep breathing-   
"You're right. MysticChic had too many candies today. OK. Maybe MysticChic should continue writing this later..."   
"No! I wanna know what happens!! Write this now pleeeeeeeeeeease??"  
"OK, OK, MysticChic'll continue writing now...geez. But did you realize that- "  
  
MysticChic was cut short by Lily taping her mouth shut with tape from the Duct Tape store. Lily instantly slapped MysticChic and continued speaking. "GET ON WITH THE STORY ALREADY!!" MysticChic's eyes shrunk from Lily's sudden outburst and they were soon closed tight when she yanked the tape off her mouth. MysticChic instantly got back to narrating the story and Lily shook her head in disgust at the fact that MysticChic was speaking in third person for the past 5 minutes.**  
  
I know, I know, it's short! o.O; that's the second time I said that. :P Anywayz, even though I spent my last dollars on candy and ate it all, I faced writers block. No more comedy unless reviewers go on strike. :P Oh yeah, and here's da spoilerz:   
_About ten minutes later, Travis pulled out his machete to hack away one more cluster of tall grass blades before they reached their destination._

Here's a second chapter to make up for the delay.  
  
**Disclaimer: Degrassi sorta owns that little scene at the end, but only from the time where Ray's coming to the end.**  
  
Ray's the mud. Travis is the hand. And Lily... well, Lily's Lily. Which let her mind wander. If the mud was pulling Lily down that day Ray conned her into spending the day with her, then Ray must really love this girl. That, or...Lily shuddered to think.  
Flashback, present times, fast-forward, and back to the fanfic. During the summer, Ray kept a strong heart—instead of shedding tears over Lily, he shed his stupidity and tried so hard to win back his girl that he got headaches night after night. Why was this so hard? He proved himself to be sorry about what happened, and vowed to Lily that nothing like that would ever happen again. What was keeping her back? Whatever it was, Ray was determined to start on good terms with Lily come September.  
  
As Lily made her way over to the steps, she had the oddest feeling someone was watching her. Every few moments, she'd turn her head subtly to the side as far behind her as possible. Once in a while, something would catch her eye and she'd swiftly turn on her heel to see if anyone was acting suspicious. This action presented her with a few weird glances, but she didn't care. She sat down next to Robbie, who was the only one at the steps yet.  
"Hey Robbie. How was your summer?"  
"Not bad. Yours?"  
"Same. Ray continued to try make me date him again, but I—"Lily was about to let her dreams slip. Long, but she didn't want Robbie to know. "—I kept getting this feeling that something really bad would happen and I didn't want to take any risks."  
"Lily, do you have any idea what Ray's doing?" Robbie asked with a touch of annoyance in his voice.  
"Um...trying to get back together with me?"  
"Yes, but why is he doing that?"  
"Robbie, the guy's in love with me. I didn't find it unusual at all; why should I?"  
Robbie sighed and put his forehead in his hand. "Never mind." Robbie looked up and shook his hand as if he couldn't say 'no' with his head. "It's hard to explain."  
Travis soon came down next to Lily and wrapped an arm around her waist. Lily looked at him with a teasing smile on her face.  
"What are you so happy about, Strong?" She asked, while giggling.  
Travis mimicked her smile and kissed her cheek. "I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Randall."  
OK, I know what you're thinking: Travis and Lily settled their thoughts over a nice cup of tea at Mickey's during the summer and are now a happy couple. Well, guess what? You're wrong! :P  
Lily laughed at Travis and brought his hand around her shoulders and put it back in his lap. "OK, Flirty McGirty, time to go work your charm on some other girl. It's not working here."  
Travis put on a sarcastic sad face and slapped the stair he was sitting on. "Darn, I really thought I could win you over this time."  
The three friends started laughing at Travis' act but stopped abruptly as Ray walked over. He made his way in between Travis and Lily, knocking Travis to the side as subtly as possible. Travis became annoyed and got up to go to his class just as the bell rang. Lily glared at Ray, got up and left with Robbie. Ray sighed and put his head on his knees.  
Dammit, Brennan, quit being an asshole!  
  
**Sorry about the length again!! I don't know what it is, I just...I don't know. And on top of that, this chapter had nothing to do with anything. So sorry...But here's a spoiler, anyway. Oh, and about that first chapter? That'll work its way into the fanfic much later. I still don't know how it associates with the rest of it, but my mind works at the oddest times, it'll probably come to me in a dream or something.**   
_"What do you think?" Lily almost didn't catch what Travis asked her. "I think...play Paper Moon in the background and it'd be the perfect make out spot."_

.** . .There's a high possibility that'll be the last spoiler. The last chapter isn't all that long...**


	11. Cahpter 12 Change

**OK, I've thought my way through a two-hour long headache and found out how to associate the first chapter with the fanfic. Here's the chapter that does exactly that. Oh, Dani, sry I stole your hyper-ness. I promise it'll only happen again when…uh…I find a pig an' shove wings into it's back :P**

Lily sat on the rusty swing and dug the toes of her shoes into the ground. She moved her knees in rhythmic motion and thought back to a year ago, when she was walking in the same park. This week greatly resembled that; the thick, grey clouds threateninga downpour for 7 full days. Lily expected the clouds to break any moment, but when they stayed for an hour, something hit her.

_Change._

When she heard that gunshot hit her mom, everything was different. Her father almost had trouble raising Lily and Simone himself, but with his oldest daughter's help, he got through it. Two changes happened in that, both the death and her father trying to be good single parent.

A week after the sudden downpour, the park came back to life. The grass was dried out, the weeds were almost as tall as Lily, and the trees were losing all their leaves. But Lily came back one week later, and it seemed almost magical.

One year later, the rain never came down.

One day later, Lily wanted Ray more than anything.

One life-changing moment later, Lily knew what she needed to do. What those dreams were telling her, what Ray was doing, what Lily needed.

Lily roughly pushed herself off the swing and ran out of the park. She ran as fast as she could to the station, hoping Travis was still there. 5 pm, RFR just ended for the day. She bust open the door, startling Travis, causing him to drop several CDs. He looked up at Lily with a scared look on his face, changing to anger when he saw a broken CD on the floor, then to confusion when he saw tear stains running down from Lily's eyes.

"Lily? What's wrong?"

"Travis! I'm so glad you're here. Have you been--"

**-insert very loud sound here-**

**o.O; I honestly wasn't expecting that…but it's part of the fanfic anyway! :D YAY TO ALL NATHAN CARTER FANS—at the end of the fanfic, I'll share the URL where insane NC fans can find a sexy drawing of Him :P **

**Actually, I didn't really think so hard I got a headache. It came to me about two minutes before I typed it up :3 The headache part was the night before :P**


	12. Author's Note

**I am incredibly sorry for the delay. It's a long story but I haven't abandoned this fanfic, just not been able to update. But I won't be able to update for a few more days. But the chapters are getting way longer!**


	13. Chapter 13 Realizations

**Prepare yourselves for a nice, long chapter because I'm in the mood to write all of a sudden. :3**

Lily saw something blurry sprint past her just before she blacked out.  
"LILY!"

_Travis gripped Lily's wrist harder and filled his mind with thoughts of what would happen if Lily were gone. He used all his strength to pull Lily out of the mud but the harder he pulled, the harder to mud kept Lily down. He went down on his knees, wrapped his other hand around Lily's shoulders and pulled harder. His energy was draining, but he'd give his family, his home, everything he ever lived for, he'd give his life if it saved Lily. Travis looked down at Lily's tears and soon, tears filled his own eyes._  
"_I won't let you down Lily..."__  
Travis re-grasped Lily and brought his foot under his knee. He thrust himself off the ground and pulled Lily with him, but as he flung backward, Lily did too. Travis breathed heavily, his eyes closed, regaining his energy. He heard a shriek and jumped up with a start._  
"_LILY!"__  
Travis jumped into the whirlpool after Lily, not caring about how weak he was and how easily the water could drown him. _

"Travis...Travis, can you hear me? Travis, wake up. Please..." Travis' eyes fluttered open to be greeted by Lily's concerned expression.  
"Lily? What..."  
"I don't know what happened either. I just woke up. I found you lying on the ground with your arm in a small puddle of blood--" Lily picked up Travis' arm to show that it was caked in dry, brick red blood. "—I didn't really want to leave you, so I stayed here."  
"So...you don't have any idea of what happened?"  
"Not a clue."  
"Well, the only thing I think we should do is try to look for anything that could help us realize what happened."  
"Not a bad idea, but you know what I think? I think that if only the place looked different could we find anything."  
Travis propped himself up on his elbow and took a look around at the station, coming to realize that it was identical to what he saw before he blacked out.  
"You've got a good point there. C'mon, we should lock up before anything else happens."  
Lily pulled Travis up off the couch and helped him clean up the tech booth before they left.

As he neared the house, Travis realized no one was home. Usually by this time of day a light was shining through the front window, but it was dark inside the house. Lily didn't find this odd at all; lights in her house weren't turned on until they could barely see inside. Annoyed, Travis made his way to the front door and searched for the key.

Struggling to unlock the door, Travis grew more frustrated with the damn lock. He had the right key, the door was indeed locked, and the key was in correctly. He finally pulled a bobby pin out of his pocket and bent down to pick the lock. Travis peered inside the lock when it felt like the pin was sinking into mud.  
"Damn," he muttered under his breath.  
"What?"  
"In case you haven't noticed, the door won't unlock," Travis answered sarcastically. Lily rolled her eyes.  
"Don't you have a spare?"  
"Well that's the thing. I figure if this key here won't work then neither will mine. It's getting dark and my parents said they were busy and wouldn't be home until early tomorrow."  
"Maybe my dad will let you stay at my house tonight. Though I must warn you, Ray's lucky my dad finally, just barely warmed up to him."  
"Forget it, I'll just stay at the station."  
Travis turned to leave but Lily held him back. Travis looked at her with a confused face. "Lily, it's fine, I stay there all the time."  
"My knight in shining armor doesn't deserve to spend a whole night alone." Lily winked at Travis, who gave her a shocked look.  
"Never mind, I'll explain it when we get to my house. Now c'mon, my dad needs to do a strip search before dark."  
Lily and Travis shared a laugh and headed towards Lily's place.

"Dad, it's ok. He can sleep down here if it makes you feel better."  
Travis looked at Lily like she was insane and she returned a reassuring smile.  
"Lily..."  
"Dad! C'mo-on...I told you he doesn't have any other place to sleep. Don't you care?" Lily gave her dad the classic puppy dog pout and he sighed and rolled his eyes.  
"Fine. But one rule: all rooms you two are in together-the door stays open the entire time."  
"Thanks dad!" Lily hugged her dad then ran up the stairs with Travis.  
"And no covering the doorway with a sheet like you tried to do last time!"

"So you've been getting these dreams too?"  
"At first I was totally confused. I knew someone was sending me the dreams and that they meant something, but I didn't truly understand anything until that one Saturday I spent with Ray. That one you tried to save me from," Lily added with a soft giggle.  
"I remember that one. I woke up when I let go of you after trying to pull you out of the mud. When I woke up the next morning I swear I was half dead of fear. I was so scared that something bad had happened."  
"Me too. In my dream that night, you were holding so tightly to my wrist I could have sworn you were cutting off the blood circulation. But when I looked into your eyes..." As Lily said this she looked up at Travis. His eyes had the same look as they did in her dream. He really loved her.  
"When you looked at my eyes...what, Lily?" He coaxed softly.  
Lily scooted toward Travis and kissed him softly. They both closed their eyes and he returned the kiss, deepening it subtly. They pulled away swiftly and acted casual when they heard footsteps climbing up the stairs.

"It's 9:30, Lily. I suggest you fix up a bed for your guest now, I want you two to get to bed on time."  
"Yes dad. Um...where do you want him to sleep?"  
"The couch bed downstairs is always free, if you don't mind, um..."  
"Travis, sir."  
"Yes." Phillip nodded and switched his gaze back to his waiting daughter. "Whatever you two deicide, you're not sleeping in here together. OK?"  
"Yes dad."  
"Or in any room together for that matter."  
"Yes dad."  
"Now come help me fix up the couch bed."  
"Yes dad."

Lily awoke bright and early to the navy blue sky sometime between 4 and 5 am.  
"H...hello?" A shadowy figure rested in the back of Lily's room, shaped in meditating position. The head jerked up as when Lily spoke.  
"Lily!" Travis whispered. "I'm...so sorry, I...I knew I would wake you up." Travis ignored the light shuffling behind him as he made his way to the door yet stopped in his tracks when a hand grabbed his arm. He heard Lily's angelic voice follow soon after her laugh.  
"Travis, it's ok. My dad doesn't wake up until 8, and I woke up on my own. I just want to know what you're doing up here."  
"I...I woke up from...the...the dream."  
Lily walked back toward her bed with Travis and they sat comfortingly close to each other.  
"What happened this time?"  
"It's horrible, Lily. You've got to be careful until one of us gets something different."  
"What?"  
"You..." Travis chocked on his words, and despite the darkness and the fact that he was speaking softly, Lily could sense that he was crying. A lump proceeded to form in Lily's throat and a knot tied in her stomach. She blinked back some tears and braced herself for Travis' news.  
"I...what?"  
Travis sniffled and Lily pulled him into a hug. "Trav...please tell me."  
Travis gulped and forced the words to spill out of his mouth. "You fell into the whirlpool...and I jumped in after you...but when I pulled you out, you were..." Travis couldn't continue. He suddenly felt light headed and shut his eyes tightly. His sealed eyes pushed out the slightest bit of tears.  
"Travis, it's ok. Calm down, it's ok." Lily curved around the side of Travis. She crept her head closer toward his face and planted a kiss on his quivering lips. She continued kissing him until she could sense a better emotion in his kiss back.

The next morning, Travis and Lily went over to his house so he could get ready for school and they could walk together.  
"Mom? Dad? You two here?"  
"Travis, there you are. Have a good place to sleep last night? I apologize for the lock, I forgot to warn you that I was having trouble with it the other day."  
"It's cool dad. Slept at a friend's house the other night; just came by to get ready for school."  
"Yes, of course."  
During the walk to school, Lily slipped her hand into Travis' and laced her fingers between his.  
"Thanks for telling me about your dream, if you hadn't found time to tell me I probably would have fallen into Ray's trap again. Those dreams never cease to amaze me, and I've still got no clue as to who's sending them."  
"Well, I think it's a guardian angel. A damn good one."  
"Yeah, and Ray will accept us being together. I don't believe in guardian angels."  
"It fits together like a puzzle," Lily added to her previous comment. "As if the messenger didn't know who the savior was at first, I didn't start seeing you in my dreams until I got those where Ray slashed me and then you healed the cut. It was so unbelievable that I took pictures of the cuts before I went back to bed." Lily found herself embarrassed at her comment and blushed a moment later. Travis tilted her chin up and looked her in the eye, as if searching for something.  
"If I'm not mistaken, this messenger was doing more than saving you...he-or she-saw us destined to be together. Frankly...I don't hate it."  
Travis slid his hand and cupped Lily's neck. Lily closed her eyes as Travis' lips met hers and kissed him back.

**I have so much written after this. I just keep uploading the entire file and delete all chapters but the one I'm working on. When I had it in the chapter edit, the scroll bar was just a little strip, and it was like one third of the way down the scroll. LOL. And sometime...someday I'll re-post every chapter starting here. It wont be much of a change, but some of the really stupid lines will be better. Long story shut up. o.o**


	14. Chapter 14 The Reason

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY!!!! My computer is cursed, I swear it is. Internet broked. o.O; Had Will post chapter for me. Dad switched hard drives. Internet worked! YAY! But I didn't update my disk. So the good fanfic is on the other hard drive. Decided to post crappy versions of chapters until dad switches hard drives back...text boxes become disabled!!! So...now, either my dad fixed the text box problem or I'm at some nifty computer store. Either way, here's my next chapter. (Edit: I'm at a nifty computer store hehe)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the song that Ray sings. Hoobastank owns it.**

Ray was more than insanely jealous when he saw Travis and Lily flirting and kissing throughout that day. He wished he could control his anger but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He needed Lily more than a fish needs water. At lunch, instead of sitting between Robbie and Ray, Lily sat sickeningly close to Travis, or at least in Ray's opinion. They were holding hands under the table, fingers intertwined. Robbie could practically see the steam coming out of Ray's ears and his eyes burn green. Just as Lily and Travis were about to kiss, Robbie interrupted.

"SO, guys. Um...what do you feel like doing tonight? Mickey's? It's Open-Mic night and I've got a feeling we should be expecting something different this time."

"Um...ok...but me and Travis were gonna--"

"I think it can wait Lily, until the weekend. Whatever it is," Robbie cut in sharply.

Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed Robbie's shirt collar. She pulled him out of his chair and dragged him out of the cafeteria.

"Why does it seem oddly like you don't like me and Travis being together?" she whined angrily.

"It's not me, Lily. I'm fine with it. It's Ray."

"What? Tell Ray he's got to quit being a baby. I know what's going on and I don't want to be his girlfriend. I never will. It's his fault entirely."

"Lily, he's the only one of us four who doesn't know about the dreams. It's why he keeps trying so hard to win you back. If you didn't have those dreams then everything would be fine."

Lily looked surprised. How did Robbie know-Travis? Of course. Travis told him.

"Robbie, if Travis and I weren't being sent those dreams then I could be dead for all we know."

"Do you honestly think Ray would go so far as to kill you?"

Lily opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by the ringing of the school bell. She shook her head, then looked back up at Robbie, who still had a smug look on his face.

"Look, Robbie. I don't have time for this. What's going on between this little love triangle is honestly none of your business. We'll settle things on our own."

"What needs to be settled? Fate brought us closer, m'lady. No questions asked," stated a quizzical voice. Lily looked behind her to face a smiling Travis. She smiled back and headed off to English class with him. Robbie sighed and waited for Ray.

That evening at Mickey's, Lily chose a seat close to the stage with Travis. Robbie sat at an empty table, keeping a seat empty for Ray.

_Where is he?_

To everyone's surprise, Ray came onto the stage with an acoustic guitar in hand. He sat down on the stool and pulled the microphone as close as he could. He positioned his fingers on the strings and pulled out a guitar pick.

"Um...this song goes out to someone who really deserves to hear me singing this, Lily Randall. Lily, I know you're out there with him, and you're probably never gonna give him up, but just listen anyway."

Ray took a deep breath and began playing. After a short intro, he began singing.

_I'm not a perfect person  
__As many things I wish I didn't do  
__But I continue learnin'  
__I never meant to do those things to you_

_And so I have to say before I go  
__That I just want you to know_

_I found a reason for me  
__To change who I used to be  
__A reason to start over new  
__And the reason is you_

_I'm sorry that I hurt you  
__It's something I must live with everyday  
__And all the pain I put you through  
__I wish that I could take it all away  
__And be the one who catches all your tears _

_That's why I need you to hear_

_I found a reason for me  
__To change who I used to be  
__A reason to start over new  
__  
And the reason is you  
__And the reason is you  
__And the reason is you  
__And the reason is you..._

_I'm not a perfect person  
__I never meant to do those things to you  
__And so I have to say before I go  
__That I just want you to know_

_I found a reason for me  
__To change who I used to be  
__A reason to start over new  
__And the reason is you_

_I found a reason to show  
__A side of me you didn't know  
__A reason for all that I do  
__And the reason is you_

Ray strummed the final cord and let the tune linger. He looked up at Lily, who didn't exactly look happy. Travis seemed to be trying to get her to calm down, but he wasn't working. Lily threw her cup of water - luckily it was plastic - at Ray, and stormed out of Mickey's. Heads turned, and Ray sighed. He put the guitar on the table that Travis was still sitting at and ran out after Lily. As soon as he opened the door it started raining pretty hard.

"Just great. I have to look for an angry Lily in the pouring rain. What a night this has turned out to be," Ray thought aloud.

Ray started running in the direction of Lily's house, but halfway there he turned back and ran to the park. Realizing that there was only one other place she could have gone, he turned another direction and started running to the station.

Lily jumped in surprise when Ray opened the metal door and it slammed shut behind him.

"Ray..." Lily's tone had anger written all over it.

"Lily, I didn't-I mean, I wanted...you--"

Lily pushed herself off the couch and stood two inches away from Ray. Literally, he had his head a little backwards and his eyes were wide. Like...O.O wide.

"Ray, how on _EARTH_ could you do something like that? It was totally humiliating! If you needed to express your undying love for me you could have just left me a note or talked to me in the park or SOMETHING! ANYTHING but do it in front of 50 plus people on Open Mic night!!" Lily slapped Ray across the face, pushed him aside and stormed out the door. Again.

Lily pulled her jacket tighter around herself and walked faster. She could barely see anything with the rain pouring that hard, despite the bright streetlights. She heard thunder boom and saw a flash of lightning, and walked faster. When she heard foot steps coming up behind her, she started jogging, running, soon sprinting.

"LEAVE ME ALONE RAY!" She yelled, wanting him to stop following her. Well, Ray wasn't insane enough to go out into the rain a second time. A hand grabbed Lily's shoulder and she thrashed to make whoever grabbed her let go.

"Lily! Lil...Lily, calm down, it's me, Travis."

As soon as she heard him talking she calmed down. Travis put her up to the side of a wall that he conveniently stopped her in front of. The roof outstretched about a foot so the two would only stopped being rained on if Travis got himself no farther than an inch from Lily.

"Lily, why are you acting like this?" Travis had to raise his voice above the rain but to Lily it seemed softer than a whisper. "I know what Ray did was inconsiderate, but you can't just go running off into a storm this bad. You could have been hurt."

Travis seemed ready to say something else, but Lily took over anyway to avoid an awkward silence.

"Travis, you have no idea how angry at Ray I am. You've never been in this position."

"Lily, believe me, I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I'm not telling you to get back together with Ray, or even be his friend. I just want you to forgive him. I know he shouldn't have done what he did but he's not all bad."

"Trav, I don't know...I don't know if it's that easy." Tears filled Lily's eyes, but Travis couldn't tell if they were overflowing because of the rain. He wrapped one arm around Lily's waist and cupped the side of her jaw with his other hand then kissed her softly. Gradually he deepened the kiss and Lily played along with no hesitation. After a moment, Travis pulled away smoothly.

"It's getting pretty late, Travis, my dad's gonna kill me if he finds out I've been out here in the storm."

"... Come home with me."

"What?"

"You let me stay at your house the other night, I should do the same in return. Just until the rain dies down."

"Travis, a storm like this lasts days."

"Well then stay at my house for a few days."

"I don't know Trav..."

Travis put a finger to Lily's lips to silence her. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Lily's phone number.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Randall, it's Travis. I'm at Mickey's with your daughter, Lily. My house is only a few blocks away; I was wondering if she could stay at there until the storm calms down. I don't want her walking home in weather like this."

"That's very nice of you Travis, but I don't think the storm will die down in any less than three or four days. I'd feel better if Lily were here at home. Where do you live; I can pick her up."

"It's fine, I can give her a ride home later tonight. She'll be home before 8, sir."

Phillip was a little more than hesitant to this. Nonetheless he agreed anyway. "Don't make me lose my trust in you, Travis. At first impression I found you a nice young man."

"OK sir. Bye."

"Goodbye Travis."

**That phone conversation was lamer than lame, wasn't it? -And yes, it is better in the UPDATED VERSION. -glares evily at dad- -.- So, Dani, you think you know who the guardian angel is, huh? Well, anyone else who thinks they know...wait many many chapters for it to be revelaed. Seriously, I didn't even know who it was until I actually wrote the damn thing o.O; Well anyway, . . . I forget what I was gonna say. But the last chapter, many chapters from now, is incredibly long. That's actually the chapter I'm working on! Er...was working on! Oh, and one more thing. When I post the url for the picture, if you girls don't think it's enough, I can totally draw him full bodied. Maybe, uh...erase the shirt ;) Maybe a little more if y'all want. LMAO j/k**


	15. Cahpter 15 Promise

**I'm feeling bored today so i'll post a second chapter. Enjoy!**

The drive to Lily's house was complete silence, other than the rain coming down and the windshield wipers on high speed. Lily was sleeping, despite the fact that her house was about a 20-minute drive away from Travis' place. Travis came to quick stop when a light turned red unexpectedly, which made Lily jerk up from her slumber.

"What was that?"

Travis smiled at Lily, sort of like a laugh. "The light turned red and I wasn't paying attention when it was yellow."

"Oh. How far are we from my house?"

"We'll be there in about five minutes."

"Oh...Travis?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"Could you promise me something?"

"I'll promise you anything if it makes you happy."

"Promise me that no matter what happens, you won't risk anything important to save me?"

**The audience may now take this time to get up and go waste as much time as possible before Travis answers Lily. Go get some popcorn, take a whiz, go to the store and buy something for mommy and daddy...y'know, just anything to waste time. You can even let your annoying little brother on the computer for a couple hours so he'll shut up while you're reading this very intense chapter. In which someone does something :P But I haven't written it as I'm writing this so I dono what happens ;) I'm good, aren't I? -sings along to this really cool song I'm listening to- **

**-It's a new day, but it all feels old It's a good life, that's what I'm told! But everything it all juss feels the same...At mah high school, it felt more ta me like a jail cell, a penitentiary.** **Mah time spent there it only me see...-**

**I love that song :) -This is the anthem, throw all ya hands up Ya'll got to feel me sing if ya with me-**

**-yawn- It's pretty freakin' late at night...OOH ANOTHER GOOD SONG!**

**-(When I pretend) Everything is what I want it to be I look exactly like whatchu ad always wanted ta see (when I pretend) I can forget about the crim'nal I am stealin second afta second just cuz I know I can-**

**DAMIMT MYSTY QUIT PLAYIN WITH THE EARPHONE CORD!**

**-.- I hate my kitten she's so damn playful.**

**-looks at my wrist, grabs a black marker and draws a watch that shows that it's been an hour since I wrote that Lily asked Travis the question-**

**OK, time's up. Get back in your chairs, you lazy bums. Travis is gonna answer now.**

Travis thought about how much he loved Lily. He could never promise that he'd think about himself for more than half a second when Lily was in danger. If he did, it was about how much he was gonna miss her if he did lose her. The light turned green, and Travis hit the gas petal.

Lily and Travis were on Lily's front porch, and Lily was fishing for her key.

"Trav?"

"Yeah?"

"You never answered when I asked you to promise me that you'd never risk anything important to save me." Lily unlocked the door and looked up at Travis. He was silent. He knew what he wanted to say, but for some reason it wouldn't come out.

"I..."

Travis was cut off when Lily's father appeared at the door.

"Have a good time at Mickey's, Lily?"

"Yeah it was...it was good. you excuse me and Travis for a moment, we've...got something we need to talk about."

Phillip cleared his throat and looked at his daughter with a stern expression. She returned a pleading look in her eyes. After a moment, Phillip turned around and walked back inside.

"You were saying...?"

Travis hesitated for a moment. "I can't promise you that, Lily."

Travis kissed Lily goodnight and left, leaving a girl standing in front of a lake, deciding whether to push herself in, or wait for the water to swallow her.

**OK, I know it's not as long as the last one, but I wasn't really into writing at the time.**


	16. Chapters 16, 17, and 18 New Year and New...

-sigh- OK. I'll admit it. I'm getting sick of leaving you guys with a short chapter and them making you wait like more than a month for the next short chapter. So here's what I'm gonna do about: Next 3 chapters. All combined in one posting. Including all the auhtors notes. So you guys can like, make your reviews in 3 sections :P LOL. Well anyway, starting now, I'll give you 3 chapters in 1 posting but you have to give me 3 reviews in one posting. K? K.

**Oooh Jess whatcha get them? :P**

Winter came, and everything was fine. Nothing happened that could have gone along with Lily drowning. Which was weird.

Two weeks before Christmas, Lily started sticking flyers in random sophomore lockers advertising a New Years Eve party. Her original plan was to tape the flyers on the wall next to every door, but she knew that the janitor wouldn't fall for her 'stamp of approval', even though it was conveniently identical to Principal Waller's.

The bell for sixth period sounded; did I mention Lily was doing this during lunch? Anyway, Lily ran down the hall to her locker and stuffed the rest of the flyers in her there. She pulled out her science book and waited at the cafeteria door for Travis.

On Christmas Eve, Travis appeared at Lily's door around 5:30 pm.

"Good evening miss. I'm conducting a survey this lovely Christmas Eve night, and would like to know: What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Lily gave a half-hearted laugh and took the clipboard out of Travis' hands. She yanked the glasses off his face and put it on a nearby countertop. She grabbed her coat off the hook and called inside.

"Mom! I'm going out with a friend, I'll be home by 10!"

"9!"

"K!"

Lily pulled the door shut behind her and Travis helped her put her coat on. They went over to his car and got in.

"So," Travis started, as he turned on the engine. "What _are_ your plans for tomorrow?"

Travis started down the driveway and kept his gaze on the road behind him, waiting for a chance to pull out.

"Well, in the morning I'm gonna be the first to wake up. I'll make hot cocoa for Simone, hazelnut coffee for my dad and a vanilla cappuccino for myself. We'll open presents with Christmas music playing softly in the background and then go to some restaurant for lunch. See a movie at the Roscoe Cinema. Come home, and then my dad will force Simone and I to write thank you letters to anyone who sent presents this year."

Travis was on the road by now. "Seems fun enough. What about dinner?"

Lily twiddled her thumbs. It was obvious to Travis - actually, obvious to any random dopehead - that Lily didn't wanna talk about it. But she did anyway.

"Usually by Christmas evening, I'd be invited to someone's house for a party or something. Simone would just go find a random 'flyer party' to hang out at until she was too drunk to call for a ride home. I haven't spent Christmas night at my house since my mom died. But...it looks like I have to. Even though it happened 10 years ago I still dread returning home for Christmas dinner. I always cherished the time I spent with my mom because she always told me the same thing every night when she tucked me into bed. 'Live life to the fullest because everyday is someone's last day on earth.'"

"And it's true. I was going to organize a Christmas broadcast for RFR. Care to join?"

Lily looked up and smiled at Travis. "I'd love to."

**Has anyone realized that I haven't mentioned Radio Free Roscoe in my fanfic since the second chapter? Maybe I'll have a broadcast evetually but not now.**

**No, I'm not doing the X-mas brodcast...**

At 6, an hour before Lily's New Years Eve party started, Travis and Robbie came over to help with the decorations.

"Lily, is it just me, or have you not said a word to Ray for, how long, 4 months?"

Lily glared at Robbie and ran out of them room. Travis stared at Robbie, sarcastically saying 'Thanks.'

"Ray really misses Lily. Maybe you two should give those dreams a break and see what he has to offer."

"Robbie, do you wanna replace Lily in our dreams?" Travis said defensively, turning to Robbie.

"Look, I'm just saying that Ray would never hurt Lily. I don't get why she thinks that."

Travis turned back to the decorations and spoke more calmly this time. "One afternoon, back in freshman year about three months after Lily and Ray broke up. I called to ask if she wanted to hang out. I tried to help her get out of an awkward moment with Ray and out of spending a whole day with him. That night I dreamt that Lily drowned. She told me later what really happened."

Robbie set down the balloon that he was trying to pin up for a dart game and looked at Travis. "What happened?"

Travis took a deep breath and sat down on the couch. "Lily ended up spending the entire day with Ray. She really thought he changed and it was sort of like a one-day stand. That night she dreamt that the mud was pulling her down harder than I was pulling her out."

Robbie looked down, embarrassed. "Oh."

**-insert awkward silence-**

"We should get back to getting ready. We still have to finish the paint wall, fill the fortune balloons and move all the furniture so we can lie out the bubble wrap. It's 6:15."

"Right."

Around 6:30, Lily still hadn't come back out. Travis and Robbie were done filling the paint balloons, and they needed a sheet to put up. Travis went in search for Lily while Robbie started putting Lily's fortunes into balloons.

"Travis, get two of them, we need one for the fortune balloons too."

"Okay."

Travis went to the back to Lily's room, scared of what he'd find. He didn't have to be, for when he opened the door, Lily was sitting on her bed staring up at pictures of her and Ray.

"I really miss him Trav," she whispered, aware she was no longer alone. "I know I shouldn't but I miss him terribly."

"Lily, you have every right to miss him. He's your best friend."

"Was. Was my best friend. I don't think I could ever stop worrying. He may never forgive me for avoiding him."

"Lily, he's in love with you. He'll never get over you, despite what you two have been through. He's practically expecting you to march right into his room and give him a make-up hug."

Lily wiped at her tears and turned around. "Really? He really wants to make up with me?"

"He'd give up months of cartoons for it."

Lily gave a small smile. "I'll do it when we get back to school."

Travis nodded. "Well, do you wanna come help me and Robbie with the decorations?"

"Sure. I guess I have to, huh."

"Yeah well, your shirt is soaked with tears. Don't you think you should change? I mean, a wet white t-shirt..."

"Yeah. You're right."

Travis sat on Lily's bed as she pulled out a long sleeved shirt. He smiled innocently at her as she waited for him to leave so she could change her shirt.

"What? I'm just waiting for my sweet girlfriend to get ready for her New Years Eve party. Nothing out of the ordinary here" Travis pointed out, looking around.

Lily put her hands on her hips and titled her head to the side. A grin broke out on Travis' face and Lily whipped him with her shirt.

"Travis..." Lily pointed to the door. Travis ducked his head like a little child in trouble and made his way to the door rather slowly. Lily turned him around and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Get out if you don't want that to be your last one."

Travis widened his eyes and dashed out the door.

Just as Lily slipped on her shirt, Travis popped his head in the door.

"Damn, I missed it." Travis stuck his tongue out at Lily and she punched his arm.

Lily tugged on the hem of her shirt and followed Travis out the door. She went into the closet and pulled out two sheets, then went into her father's toolbox and pulled out string and tape. She made her way over to Robbie, who was tying up the last of the fortune balloons.

"Why'd you change your shirt, did you spill something?"

"Yeah I...just spilled my drink."

"Oh...kay"

Robbie looked a little skeptical, but shrugged it off. He ignored Lily's new shirt and went back to taping up balloons over the sheet. "So...are you sure this tape is gonna hold the balloons? They seemed kinda heavy. Two pounds, three pounds, or so"

"I'm pretty sure they'll hold. But that's why I made sure we did this in here, with the tile floor. East clean-up if any balloons drop."

"OK."

Lily, Travis, and Robbie finished at 7:15, just in time for the first few guests to arrive. Lily greeted them with a smile and led them through to house, which was pretty dark. A large room in the back of the house had a black light and a strobe light. Travis waited at the door for guests to arrive while Lily and Robbie the guests who were already there company.

Lily, Audrey, and a few other girls were shooting the paint-filled balloons with darts, covering a white sheet that would hang up over a plain wall in Lily's room in January. It was 9 pm, and the room had gradually filled up over the past two hours.

_3 more hours till the fireworks, just 3 more_ Lily thought to herself. She and Travis would sneak down to the Roscoe observation deck at about 11:45 to watch the fireworks together. Although it seems like a reasonable place for many people to go to, Lily found that every year when she went with the guys, it was deserted.

At 10:30, Lily left the party to go to her bedroom to get something for a couple of jocks to toss around. Someone grabbed her waist and dragged her to the bathroom.

Lily kicked and bit her capturer until he let go. She dashed to the bathroom door but he locked it from the outside.

"You're pretty stupid, you know that, right? Neither of us can get out and no one will be bale to hear us until morning."

"I don't give a shit about any of that. You broke my heart and you're gonna pay."

"What the...Ray! Are you...drunk?"

"What the damn right I'm drunk."

"Why the hell did you lock us in here?"

"I'm here for you! Get over here, beautiful lady!"

Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the door. "Like you'd do anything right now, you're so vulnerable."

Ray stumbled over to Lily and forcibly kissed her. She pushed on his chest as hard as she could and wished she could get the vile taste of alcohol out of her mouth. Before she could get some water from the sink Ray grabbed her.

"God dammit, don't you know anything?"

"Ray, let go!"

Lily struggled to get out of Ray's grasp. With one hand, Ray grabbed Lily's arms and shoved them against her neck so she couldn't say or grab anything. With the other hand he undid his zipper, then Lily's.

At 11:30, Travis pulled on a string that dangled from the ceiling, releasing all the fortune balloons. Everyone grabbed a balloon and popped it open, revealing his or her fortunes. Travis went over to the radio and turned off the music.

"The fireworks start in 30 minutes. Everyone has a choice to either go up on the roof, outside to the front or stay in here. Keep in mind that only 20 people are allowed on the roof at one time. First come first serve."

Travis left the room in search for Lily, who, to Travis' surprise, was gone for an hour. He heard something coming from the bathroom, what sounded like crying.

"Lily?" Travis knocked on the door. "Lily, are you in there?"

"TRAVIS!" Lily managed to scream out. Ray had left Lily about 40 minutes ago, locked in the bathroom, half naked. Travis jiggled the handle, then pulled out a bobby pin and picked the lock. He prayed to God this would work, and fortunately, it did. Lily was curled up in the corner, looking like a complete mess. She was still crying, rocking back and forth, and hugging her knees. Travis bent down to her level and hugged her.

"Lily, what happened?" He coaxed calmly. "Who locked you in here?"

Lily gulped and fresh tears ran down her face. She tried to explain what happened but all Travis understood were that it wasn't very pretty.

Travis wrapped his arms around Lily and let her cry into his shirt. For about ten minutes he calmed her down the best he could do.

"Lily, are you ok to tell me what happened now?"

Lily nodded and sniffed a few times.

"OK but first let's get you fixed up; looking like this will raise some suspicions."

Lily nodded again and Travis left the bathroom to let Lily get ready. At about 11:50 she came out looking like nothing happened.

"How about I tell you on the way to the deck? We've got 10 minutes before the fireworks start."

"OK."

After making sure everyone was cool, Travis and Lily snuck their way out onto the road in Mr. Randall's car.

"I was in my room and Ray grabbed and dragged me into the bathroom. He was sorta drunk. I'd say he had about 6 or 7 cans of beer. And so he dragged me into the bathroom and started rambling about a bunch of crap about him and me. So then he grabbed my wrists and pushed them against my neck so I couldn't speak or grab a hold of anything. Then he...well, you know. He left after about 20 minutes and seemed satisfied enough."

Travis nodded in understanding and turned a corner. "Well, I'm not sure what we can do about it now, but if he does anything else to harass you, or anyone for that matter, we'll have to take the case to court."

"OK. But I feel like, regardless of what he did, he's still my best friend and I don't want to harm him."

Travis stopped at a stoplight and turned to Lily. "Anytime you start feeling guilty about that, just remember what he did. He deserves punishment for making you feel uncomfortable."

Lily stared into Travis' eyes and leaned over to kiss him.

The light turned green and Travis continued to the deck.

**LKF: This entire chapter didn't come to me until about 2 days after I wrote the first paragraph, where Lily was shoving flyers into lockers. :3 In other words, this was one of those things where I'm only thinking for about 3 seconds of what I'm gonna write before I write it.**

_A large wave from the lake leapt up and engulfed Lily in its icy cool water. Travis, who was still in fell-down position, pounced up and dived after Lily. The water started swirling, taking in Lily, leaving Travis more scared than he was watching The Exorcist. He grabbed onto a boulder that seemed conveniently placed, and watched as Lily continued drowning. Travis knew that Lily was getting closer to her death by the second. If he went down for her, even if he did save her he'd die himself. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. _

"_I can't promise I won't risk my life to save you Lily. But I can promise that I'll be right by your side, no matter what."_

_Travis climbed up onto the rock and stood. "I'd give anything for you Lily. Even my life." _

_Travis dove into the whirlpool and forced himself in the direction of Lily. She was caught in the swirling of the water, making it hard for Travis to catch her. Using all his strength, he grabbed hold of Lily and pulled her onto the shore. He laid her body out in front of him and got on his knees._

"_Lily...Lily, can you hear me?" _

_After no response, Travis positioned his hands on Lily's rib cage to give her CPR. This, despite the small task it is, drained up the last of his energy. Lily's eyes fluttered open and she smiled gratefully at Travis. He smiled back just before the life was sucked out his body and he fell to the ground._

Both Lily and Travis woke up, drenched in a cold sweat at exactly 9:02 am. Both muttered the other's name, and raced out of bed.

As if they were psychically connected, both got ready and ran to the park to wait for their significant other.

Lily slowed down to a jog as she approached the park bench that Travis was waiting at.

"Hi." She greeted softly.

"Hey. Did you have the dream as well?"

"Yeah. Did you wake up at 9:02?"

"Exactly."

Travis sat down on the bench casually and Lily followed his action about three times as quick and jittery. Travis scooted close to her and rested an arm around her shoulders. Tears soon spilled over from Lily's eyes.

"Did he use protection?" Travis asked, referring to the obvious. Lily sniffled.

"That's one more thing to worry about."

Travis gazed calmly at Lily and she stared back.

"Lily?"

"Yes, Travis?"

"I can't promise you that I won't risk anything important to me to save you. But I can promise that I'll be right with you forever and a day."

Lily giggled a little and looked down. "No matter what?"

Travis chuckled. "Even if...your dad kicks you out of the house for...well, you know. I'd do anything for you if it makes you happy."

Lily smiled and leaned toward Travis for a kiss.

Lily made it through the rest of the school year with Travis being her loyal protector against Ray. Unfortunately, she received endless taunting and ignorance during the last two months of school. No need for explaining, you all know why. Travis just shot glares at anyone who was laughing and soon enough, they were facing the other direction. Oh, man, if looks could kill

There was also the deal with her dad. When she started to get noticeably big around the stomach area, her father fumed. Lily didn't have the guts to tell her dad what really happened, and certainly didn't want him to find out. But of course that could never happened. One Saturday in April...

Lily woke up to the sound of her father calling. She hopped out of bed and bounded down the stairs to the living room, where her father was waiting.

"Lily, I'd like to have a word with you about the obvious" Phillip announced, eyeing what he was talking about. Lily blushed and looked down.

"It's not what you think dad, it was"

"Lily, saying it was an accident will not work. I've taught you better and look how you repay me, by acting irresponsible with Travis. I trusted you with him, Lily! How you could you do this?"

"It's not Travis' baby..." Lily corrected softly.

"Excuse me?"

"It's not Travis who did this to me, dad...it was" Lily choked on her words. "Ray raped me at my New Years Eve party. He was really drunk and wanted revenge to how I treated him." Lily kept her gaze down and wiped her eye before tears could spill.

"It was Ray?"

"Yes. I tried to push him off but I felt really weak" Lily cried harder and curled her knees up to her chest. Her chin trembled subtly and she wiped at her eyes.

"Lily, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was scared you would make me do something I'd regret...or you'd regret"

To avoid a really, really crappy ending to the scene, all ended up well.  
  
On September 2nd, a few days after Lily's junior year at Henry Roscoe High started, right during the middle of English Lit, Lily wasn't feeling too good.

_What the hell...9 months, of course. God, why couldn't this have happened after school? Or on a weekend?_

Lily raised her hand as the teacher turned around.

"Mr. Miller? I need to use the restroom"

"Go right ahead Miss Randall."

Lily got up out of her seat and avoided the stares she was getting. She picked up her hall pass and ran down the hall to the classroom where Travis had his 3rd period. She popped her head in the doorway and knocked on the wall.

"Ms. Kaylen, may I please speak with Travis for a moment?"

"Of course Lily."

Travis looked at Lily with a bit of confusion on his face and went out into the hall with her.

"Lily, is there a problem?"

Lily had a little trouble telling Travis, but it finally came out. In a whisper, of course.

"Travis, not to sound embarassingly blunt, but it's been 9 months."

Travis pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. While waiting for it to connect, he spoke with Lily.

"OK, how about I have my mom come pick you up and take you to the hospital now? I'll tell the rest of your teachers before each class that you had to leave due to an emergency, and your dad can give a note to Mr. Waller tomorrow, excusing you for the day." Travis dialed his mom's number as Lily nodded in agreement.

Phone conversation, agreements and understandings, blah blah, Travis' mom picks up Lily, gets her to the hospital, la dee da, nothing importanté...FAST FORWARD

Lily waited in the...eh...whatever the room where women wait before they deliver is called...bored out of her mind. She felt so uncomfortable in here; only 16 years old and waiting to deliver a baby. At 3:30, Travis came in, looking rushed. Lily grinned.

"Hey Travis. I didn't think Robbie and Ray would let you come."

"We did some negotiating but in the end, I won. Boy with pregnant girlfriend waiting to deliver always beats ¾ a group of amateur radio DJs."

Lily laughed a bit and kissed Travis.

"I think Ray rubbed off on me. He always waits till the last minute and we haven't thought of any names yet."

"Lily, we don't even know what gender it's going to be yet. Calm down, we'll have plenty of time to think of a name."

Lily smiled and hugged Travis. "Thanks so much for sticking with my through this. I really though of getting an abortion but when I spent an hour in my room thinking of what would happen I just couldn't bear to kill my child. I pray it looks more like me than Ray, I don't think I could have him help raise my child."

"Everything's going to be OK. Please don't worry."

Cheesy moment, Lily waits for like, 6 hours, ready to deliver, blah blah blahOK So she's handed the baby after it's all cleaned up, Travis is with her, and the baby is...DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNN...A...girl :)

"Lily, she's absolutely beautiful."

"Aww, thanks Trav." Lily grinned at Travis and he kissed the side of her forehead.

"I've actually thought of a few names myself, if you don't mind."

"Of course not. Names are not my specialty."

Travis sat down on the bed next to Lily. "Ever since I was young I hoped that when I got older I could have one kid, a boy. So I didn't think of very many girl names, if that's alright with you," Travis joked. "I really like the name Erin. It can be both a girl's and a boy's name, except with different spellings."

"Erin...that's a really nice name. What else do you have?"

"Ginger. If you ask me it seems like the perfect name to fit a spunky, sporty kind of girl who's not quite a tomboy, but not exactly a Barbie doll. Like a spice. Not too sweet, not too much flavor, just balanced out."

Lily nodded while staring off in no particular direction.

"There's also Skye. Unique, charming, bound to be the only 'Skye' in her grade."

Lily chuckled at Travis' remark and remembered back in 8th grade when there were two other Lilys in her grade and she shared one class with each. Lily soon bit her bottom lip.

"Something wrong, Lily?"

"No, nothing...it just seems like...none of those names fit her. I don't know. I'm not judging you or anything, it's just...you understand, right?"

"Completely. I have one more name though."

"Shoot."

"Kiana. It means Moon Goddess."

Lily smiled at Travis and then down as her sleeping baby.

"Sasha...it fits her perfectly. Kiana Alexandria Randall."

Travis hesiatated for a moment, and nodded. "I like it too."

**-looks really nervous- Uh...nn...eh...um...uhhhnn... O.o -whines and points to me brother- BLAME IT ON HIM HE MADE ME WRITE A REALLY LAME CHAPTER!!**

**No but seriously, I wasn't in the mood to write. Just bored.**


	17. Author's Note

**Jessica that's cool that your parents understood you had a bf. If I gota bf and told my parents my dad would (1) Tease me about it to no end or (2) Go buy a chainsaw. My mom would... . I dono. But w/e.**

**RFR person, no this isn't the end. I still have 2 more chapters to post but I'm not done writing the last chapter. Plus I've lost total intrest in this fanfic. I don't like it. So...I have 3 other fanfics up, 2 RFR (one shots) and 1 Degrassi (got 3 chapters up so far) so maybe you'd like to read those to hold on till I get the rest of this one up?**

**Just a while longer, guys!**


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